{"id":507402,"date":"2026-04-01T16:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/507402\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:54:09","slug":"pot-noodle-pizza-to-dr-who-darlic-bread-this-years-best-april-fools-april-fools-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/507402\/","title":{"rendered":"Pot Noodle pizza to Dr Who Darlic bread: this year\u2019s best April fools | April Fools’ Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

The media ecosystem may have changed since the BBC\u2019s spaghetti harvest report<\/a> in 1957 or the Guardian\u2019s 1977 travel supplement about the island of San Serriffe<\/a>, but April fool stories are still with us.<\/p>\n

Indeed, if you picked up Wednesday\u2019s edition of the Guardian, you may have been taken in by our report that evidence has been found of coffee being consumed in England a couple of centuries before the first known examples, thanks in part to an expert called Macky Arto.<\/p>\n

Other April fool highlights from the media include the Byline Times story<\/a> that White House officials have confirmed Liz Truss, the former British prime minister, is to join Nasa at the behest of Donald Trump, in order, she says, to fight \u201cthe dark forces of the deep space blob\u201d. The tell in that story? It stretches credulity by claiming the US president is \u201ca big fan\u201d of Truss\u2019s YouTube channel, when clearly, judging by the numbers, nobody is.<\/p>\n

In an apparent jibe at the crisis-hit CalMac ferries, the Scotsman reports<\/a> that a medieval Scottish ferry, found in Mull, appears to have been abandoned during the ninth century as a result of \u201ctechnical difficulties\u201d. Next to the remains, which it says have roll-on, roll-off capacity for carts, was a vellum manuscript wrapped in deerskin, which appears to be a timetable \u2013 with \u201cDeoVolente (God willing)\u201d written after each departure time.<\/p>\n

Also on a transport tip, the Oxford Mail, reporting on a location whose 15-minute city plan has become a culture war touchstone<\/a>, says a \u00a33bn scheme to build a monorail<\/a> through some of the most historic parts of Oxford is in train. It rounds out the article with a set of recognisable quotes from the Simpsons episode where a monorail comes to Springfield, and an AI-generated image of the monorail cutting through the skyline of the \u201ccity of dreaming spires\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tinned Hawaiian pizza from Dole. Photograph: Dole<\/p>\n

A major theme in recent years of April fool jokes by brands has been the announcement of unlikely collaborations \u2013 especially in the food space. This year, Heinz and PerfectTed are claiming they are getting together to produce matcha-flavoured mayonnaise. A prank that hits a sweeter spot is the promise from the dessert manufacturer G\u00fc that it is partnering with Dr Will\u2019s sriracha hot sauce to produce a sriracha chocolate melting-middle pudding, which it says \u201ctakes the spicy sweetness trend to the next level\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pizza is a good topic for a joke. The pineapple producer Dole has announced the absolutely disgusting-sounding concept of the Hawaiian pizza in a can, and the restaurant chain Zizzi says it is offering pizza with a candyfloss topping.<\/p>\n

Domino\u2019s has suggested a new pizza will be available \u2013 the Pot Noodle stuffed crust \u2013 with a commenter on its Facebook page noting: \u201cThe joke is on them because that would actually be a best seller.\u201d And what better to complement your pizza meal than Iceland\u2019s new Doctor Who-themed Darlic bread?<\/p>\n

Iceland\u2019s Darlic bread. Photograph: Iceland<\/p>\n

Asda has announced a way to make supermarket shopping an altogether more pleasant experience \u2013 with additional seats for adults being added to trolleys. The design features a comfy armchair, a cup holder for drinks and a built-in phone holder for hands-free scrolling. The company said it was introducing the design after research showed 73% of people admitted their shopping companion mysteriously vanished mid-aisle.<\/p>\n

Asda\u2019s 2026 April fool. Photograph: Asda<\/p>\n

Another trend that brands have leapt on for a bit of mischief is the idea that everything has to be infused with something nowadays. Divine Chocolate says it is launching the world\u2019s first chocolate bar infused with positive affirmations \u2013 the Good Vibes bar \u2013 which is relying, it says, on scientific research that has \u201cproved\u201d that \u201cwater praised verbally freezes into more appealing structures than water which was scolded\u201d.<\/p>\n

Good Vibes bars being infused with \u2026 well, good vibes. Photograph: Divine Chocolate<\/p>\n

Protein infusions are a current craze, and Carmoola has announced an air freshener for cars that claims to diffuse protein during your drive to work, telling prospective users: \u201c[It] disperses \u2018micro-dosed, bio-optimised protein molecules\u2019 into your car during the commute, enabling drivers to easily boost their protein intake while navigating traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The key to a good corporate April fool is to pretend to launch something that along the way extols the value of your main product. Last year the nappy brand Rascals announced it was producing nappies that would sing your child to sleep. This year it is targeting parents with the \u201cTwosie\u201d \u2013 a onesie for adults made entirely of nappies, which it claims is so absorbent that it will \u201cprotect parents from milky dribble and other unwanted stains produced by babies \u2026 and whatever just landed on your shoulder\u201d. It does look comfy in the pictures.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, you can go against type, as the Royal Albert Hall has, with its desperate attempt to seem more trendy to a younger audience. It promises a looksmaxxing contest called the Frame Mogging Championships, Doomscrolling in Concert, which will recreate the experience of trawling Instagram at 3am but accompanied by the \u201cUK Philharmonic Orchestra\u201d, and an open-air aura farming event in Hyde Park.<\/p>\n

Royal Albert Hall\u2019s Let Them Cook audience development strategy, aimed at gen Z and gen alpha. Photograph: Royal Albert Hall<\/p>\n

Not every brand jumps on 1 April in quite the same way, of course. The earplug manufacturer Loop simply sent out an email offering a discount and saying: \u201cFake headlines, office pranks, your group chat losing it. Honestly? Just sleep through it.\u201d Maybe it had the right idea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The media ecosystem may have changed since the BBC\u2019s spaghetti harvest report in 1957 or the Guardian\u2019s 1977…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-507402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}